Council

Alex MacKenzie

Chair

Alex is a clinical lead in acute physiotherapy in NHS Grampian. As clinical lead, she is deputy lead for physiotherapy in the acute sector of NHS Grampian. Previously she worked in acute oncology and haematology, both roles as part of a job share. Alex has been a steward for most of her career and a regional steward for Scotland. She has a keen interest in trade unionism, having chaired both the National Group of Regional Stewards and the CSP Industrial Relations Committee, and has participated in TUC conferences. Most recently, Alex has spent two years as Chair of the Governance Review Group of the CSP. 

Term of office: 2018 – 2022

Claire Arditto

Claire is the trust allied health professions (AHP) strategic lead and general manager at Harrogate and District NHS foundation Trust. Claire has been a Council member since 2015 and served on the Industrial Relations Committee. She is the outgoing chair of the Yorkshire and Humber English Regional Network. Her special interests are in quality improvement. She is currently a Platinum level Certified Leader, developing and building resilience in the workforce. 

Term of office: 2018 – 2021

Ishmael Beckford

Ishmael is the CSP’s BAME network co-opted member on Council – he was nominated and appointed to this role in September 2020. As a co-optee, Ishmael does not having voting rights. However, he will be attending all Council meetings for the next year, starting with the September Council. Ishmael is a director at a large independent provider of physical and mental health services. His experience includes working in private, public, and corporate sectors roles, primarily in a musculoskeletal setting but more recently also in mental health. Ishmael has held several senior management positions including head of service and operations lead. He is passionate about equity, diversity and belonging, and management and leadership development in healthcare. In being elected to a co-opted Council member role, he hopes to champion issues that impact underrepresented groups of the membership, to the benefit of the whole profession and the diverse population it serves. 

James Benson

James is a neurological physiotherapist working in a thriving private practice in the Midlands. James offers a comprehensive treatment programme that can include the Bobath technique, Functional Electrical Stimulation, Saeboflex® and hydrotherapy. He is also skilled at assessing all aspects of tone and spasticity and a competent injector of Botox® for limb spasticity. As an active member of the CSP, James was awarded a prestigious CSP Service Excellence Award in 2015. 

Term of office: 2018 – 2022

Dr Fidelma Moran

Fidelma is a lecturer in physiotherapy and course director of the MSc in Professional Development in Physiotherapy at Ulster University. She is responsible for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and research, with specific remit for cardiorespiratory physiotherapy. Fidelma is an active member of the CSP, having been involved in the NI Board, CSP Education Committee and the recent CSP JLA Priority Setting Partnership. She has also participated in quality-assurance processes at external institutions.

Term of office: 2018 – 2021

Sarah Morton

Sarah is head of therapies and professional head of physiotherapy in Gloucestershire Health and Care NHSFT, she is also Chief AHP Professional Lead for Gloucestershire Integrated Care System. These roles are helping to ensure that physiotherapy within Gloucestershire is positioned to deliver national strategic direction at a local system level.

Term of office: 2018 – 2022

Rachael Moses

Rachael is the consultant respiratory physiotherapist for the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She now works in a consultant physiotherapy post at Royal Preston Hospital. As well as representing CSP Council, Rachael is also involved with several other organisations, including the British Thoracic Society Council, NHSE Patient Safety Group, St Catherine’s Hospice and Medical Aid for Palestinians. 

Term of office: 2018 – 2021

Stuart Paterson

Stuart is leader of a clinical team of over 200 chartered physiotherapists that provide physiotherapy services to the public and private sectors. He was elected to Council in 2015 and contributed to the development and approval of the new governance model. He is the founder and owner of the Crystal Palace Physio Group, growing the business from two to 330 staff. 

Term of office: 2018 – 2021

Dr Karen Robb

Karen is the programme lead for personalised care and end of life care in cancer for the North East London Cancer Alliance. Karen has been a chartered physiotherapist for nearly 30 years and is one of a handful of people to hold a consultant physiotherapist role in cancer care. Karen is no longer in a clinical role and now supports the rollout of high-quality personalised care and support for people living with and beyond cancer. She works with a wide range of NHS and non-NHS stakeholder groups, and uses every opportunity to promote the important role of physiotherapists and AHPs. Karen is also a Body Control Pilates teacher and educator, and maintains a small clinical and research portfolio.

Term of office: 2018 – 2022

Barbara Sharp

Barbara qualified and became a member of the CSP 1983. She specialised in musculoskeletal work and then became an advanced practitioner in spinal assessment and chronic pain management. Since October 2020, she has been a member of the First Contact Physiotherapist team, working exclusively in GP practices across the Isle of Wight.

Barbara has been an active member of the CSP since the 1980s: she has been a CSP steward and local branch member and became the inaugural Chair of the South Central Regional Network. Barbara held an alternate Council position in the last Council.

She currently holds a co-opted position on the APPN Professional Network committee and is a listening volunteer with the Samaritans.

Term of office: 2018 – 2021

Shona Thompson

Shona is an advanced physiotherapist who works in a major trauma centre on a ward that combines acute major trauma and specialised rehabilitation. She is responsible for a team that combines patients requiring hyperacute specialised rehabilitation with patients who have had polytrauma. She has previous experience as a CSP workplace steward and more recently as a regional steward. Election as a Council member gives her the opportunity to be involved with physiotherapy as a whole profession, combining her trade union interests with her clinical passion. 

Term of office: 2018 – 2021

Marie-Clare Wadley

Marie-Clare is a clinical specialist in musculoskeletal conditions with a specialist interest in advanced practice, and is currently working on First Contact Physiotherapy in MSK. She has been a clinical lead specialising in MSK since 2004, having started her physiotherapy career in 1994 as a technical instructor and qualified at the University of Southampton in 2002. She has a special interest in using acupuncture alongside manual and exercise-based therapy and a passion for sport, having worked with rugby, polo, equestrian and hockey teams. Marie-Clare graduated with an MSc in Clinical Health Care at Oxford Brookes University in 2014, having studied advanced rehabilitation, advanced history-taking and assessment, diagnostic reasoning and evidence-based practice. 

Term of office: 2018 – 2022

Katie Wilkie,

Vice-Chair

Katie is an advanced physiotherapy practitioner with over 25 years’ experience dedicated to neurological physiotherapy, currently working in a multi-disciplinary neurological rehabilitation outpatient team in Edinburgh. Katie has been involved in CSP voluntary roles throughout her career. She also served as a workplace steward for 11 years and as a regional steward for eight, serving on the CSP Industrial Relations Committee and Scottish Board as a regional representative. Katie completed two years in the role of Board chair and has served on the CSP Council for the six years.  

Term of office: 2018 – 2022